1. Field of the Invention
This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/933,508, our docket AUS920070175US2, filed on Nov. 1, 2007 by P. G. Ramachandran. The present invention relates generally to automated workflow systems and methods for increasing or decreasing levels of automation in workflow management systems.
2. Background of the Invention
The following description of the Background of the Invention is provided as general background information other than prior art. Nothing in the following paragraphs should be construed as “admitted prior art” unless it is specifically noted as “prior art”.
Workflow automation is a general term used to describe advanced computing systems which automate any reliably repeatable pattern of activity by defining roles of each human involved in the work process, organizing resources and information flow, and provisioning one or more computer systems to conduct and automate the work flow process. For example, some workflow processes such as fulfilling customer requests and complaints may involve several steps or stages to be handled by different personnel, such as:
(a) initial classification of the incoming customer communication (email, letter, telephone call, etc.) as a request for help or a complaint;
(b) routing of the communication to a complaint department or a help department;
(c) when received within a department, further reviewing of the communication details and routing of the communication to an appropriately trained and skilled employee (e.g. customer relations agent, technician, etc.);
(d) drafting of a response by the employee;
(e) forwarding of the draft response to an approval authority (e.g. manager, supervisor, etc.);
(f) review of the draft response by the approval authority; and
(g) upon approval, forwarding the response to the customer; or upon disapproval, returning the communication to the employee for further work or even escalating the communication to another level of review, another department, etc.
Many of these steps are automated through communications systems such as electronic-mail based systems, voice-response units, and the like. Many of these tasks and steps remain best handled by a human. Some tasks, however, can be partially automated, such as using natural language processing to review and screen incoming email messages to determine if it is likely a complaint or likely a request for help.
Many areas of business operations have benefited by workflow automation, from Customer Relations Management (“CRM”) to order fulfillment. Many business processes which are primarily internal processes, such as product change control management, have also benefited from workflow automation because it allows global personal to collaborate on tasks while maintaining repeatable processes. When processes are repeatable, then they can be managed, monitored for quality, and further enhanced, such as insertion of automation in stages and phases where technology can be leveraged in place of human labor or effort.
As stated in “IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database” specification sheet, copyright 2006 by IBM Corporation, document number GC28-8445-00, which is incorporated by reference herein, efficient and effective information technology (IT) management requires an IT service management platform. As technology becomes more closely intertwined with day-to-day business functions, technology-centric IT management practices are slowly evolving to a more business-focused management of IT services. The IBM IT Service Management strategy enables alignment of business insight and innovative technology by finding ways to optimize the intersection of four key areas: (1) people spread across organizational and technology silos, who need to collaborate effectively; (2) processes, which can be automated using IBM Tivoli process managers based on proven best practices; (3) information throughout the enterprise that is frequently underutilized but can be made actionable when integrated; and (4) technology from IBM and other vendors that is used for executing, automating and monitoring process tasks.
This publication continues to state that, at the core of the IBM IT Service Management strategy, IBM Tivoli® Change and Configuration Management Database (CCMDB) provides an enterprise-ready configuration management database and platform upon which you can standardize and share information that helps you integrate people, processes, information and technology. Tivoli CCMDB helps you automatically discover and federate IT information spread across the enterprise, including details about servers, storage devices, networks, middleware, applications and data.
One of the challenges of managing your IT infrastructure like a business is the common inability to effectively administer processes for both change and configuration within an IT environment. Tivoli CCMDB addresses this inability with automated, preconfigured and customizable process workflows